'Funny Girl': Uneven revival of classic

‘FUNNY GIRL’: Beanie Feldstein & Ramin Karimloo. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

FUNNY GIRL
Book by Isobel Lennart
Revised by Harvey Fierstein
Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Bob Merrill
Directed by Michael Mayer
August Wilson Theatre
245 West 52nd Street
(877-250-2929), www.funnygirlonbroadway.com

By David NouNou

There is a reason why Funny Girl hasn’t been revived since its opening in 1964 and her name is Barbra Streisand. Everything about the show was tailor made for Ms. Streisand’s talents, phenomenal voice range and the ability to electrify an audience. By the time she finished her first number in Act I, “I’m the Greatest Star,” she knew it, we believed it, and it became her anthem.

Funny Girl, along with Hello, Dolly! and later that year, Fiddler on the Roof, were among the last of the big, splashy musicals that were book-heavy. Of the three, Funny Girl has the weakest book and Harvey Fierstein hasn’t improved it any. The book centers on Brooklyn-born Fanny Brice who, although wasn’t pretty like a Miss Atlantic City, broke into show business through sheer grit, determination and raw talent. She started in vaudeville at Keeney’s Theatre, where she meets gambler/con artist Nicky Arnstein, works her way up to be in the Ziegfeld Follies, gets to serenade Nick singing “People,” and leaves the Follies to be with Nick, bringing us to the end of Act I and the immortal “Don’t Rain On My Parade.”

It is in Act II where the book becomes mawkish and lugubrious. As Fanny’s stock goes up, Nicky’s goes down. She makes the money; he gets wiped out and ultimately gets thrown in jail for three years for embezzlement. Eventually comes the parting of the ways. The book is weak, but the score is sublime. Whether written as ballads, torch songs or comic relief, the songs that Jule Styne and Robert Merrill wrote tried to showcase Fanny as the great singer/comedian that she was. But as we all know, the songs ultimately showcased Barbra Streisand.

Now, how can anyone fill such a tall order? Simply put, you can’t. Beanie Feldstein as Fanny gives it a valiant effort but she comes up short for so many reasons. Starting with she lacks the Brooklyn moxie, that energy that comes from struggling from the bottom to reach the top. Her performance doesn’t vary; there is no progression from young Fanny to the adult Fanny. Ms. Feldstein is sweet, energetic, and has a pretty voice but very little range. She doesn’t so much as attack the song as much as the song gets altered to fit her vocal range. Also, she is inconsistent. An example of that is when Nick invites her to dinner when they do the duet “You Are Woman, I Am Man,” there is no romance or sultriness to it; just plain mugging and chewing the scenery, and there is plenty of that. Because Ms. Feldstein has such a cherubic face, it is difficult to see her angry and her fierce bitterness accelerate, so instead you get the kind of performance a high school or college ingenue gives when playing adult roles. Another example of coming up short is the iconic line in the beginning of the show which was slightly altered in the movie: “Hello, Gorgeous.” Ms. Streisand said it like a woman and felt it. Ms. Feldstein uses it as a young ingenue throwaway line, instantly recognizable thanks to Ms. Streisand’s immortalization.

At our performance, Ramin Karimloo was out of the show and Nicky Arnstein was admirably played by Jeremiah James with his devilishly good looks. If only the real Nick Arnstein had half his looks, it would make sense why Fanny was so crazy for him. Although not a song in the original show, but was written for the movie, the song “You’re a Funny Girl” was sung by Fanny. In this version, Mr. James with his big voice does a lovely, haunting rendition of it.

It’s a great pleasure to see Sophie Lennon from the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, playing Jane Lynch doing Mrs. Brice as an Irish lady, peppering her dialogue with Jewish idioms. Jared Grimes as Eddie Ryan, Fanny’s choreographer and confidant, has a great tap dance number in Act I.

For me, it is a great pleasure to see such revivals as the magnificently executed and lavish The Music Man and Funny Girl with its brilliant score coming back to life again and finding new audiences.

Hearing a full orchestra playing the entire original score (including songs omitted from the 1968 film adaptation), and the stupendous overture with all those fine crafted tunes strung together, brought tears to my eyes. What a pity they don’t have overtures anymore.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 29, 2022
Reviewed at April 28, 2022 press performance.

‘FUNNY GIRL’: (left to right): Kurt Csolak, Beanie Feldstein & Justin Prescott. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘FUNNY GIRL’: (left to right): Peter Francis James, Jane Lynch, Jared Grimes, Beanie Feldstein, Ephie Aardema , Debra Cardona, Martin Moran, Toni DiBuono & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.